Pawpaw Holler Home

Brrrrr, another cold morning… a hot chocolate morning!

Do you use your public library?

Do you know about all the services that public libraries offer, most of them free?

Some things we can do at our local library:

• Borrow: books, magazines, audio books, CDs, videos, DVDs, computer games and software.
• Renew materials online.
• Search books online from home.
• Checkout e-books.
• Use the internet for free.
• Attend free children’s programs; preschool, spanish preschool, after-school, summer reading, and chess club are just a few.
• Join a book club.
• Attend a free concert.
• Attend a book signing.
• Take a free computer class.
• Learn about beekeeping.
• Research family and local history, libraries have great genealogy departments.
• See an art exhibit.
• Enter book contests.
• Purchase used books during book sales, some as low as 25 cents.
• Use inter-library loan. If we can’t find a book we need and  don’t need to buy it, we can check it out from another library in our state for the cost of return postage, usually $1.50-$2.00 a book.
• Read a book!

Go check out your own local library, you might be surprised at what they offer.

Denese

Thank you all for the nice comments on the book giveaway. One of you will win a great book from Tawra Kellum of Living on a Dime!
I don’t have that one in particular but I do have several e-books from Living on a Dime and they are all full of great ideas for cutting costs and saving money.

I know many of you are having a very hard time right now, especially since your husbands are not working.
We have been blessed that mine still is…as long as tourists are still renting the cabins he’s building. Even though he is working, we still live week to week and I thought I’d share some big ways we save money around our house.

1. Cut off the cable or satellite TV.
We check out videos and DVD’s from your local library, for free.
If you like older movies and series, check out the Internet Archive. They have quite a few that can be downloaded to your computer, also free.

2. If you have high-speed internet, downgrade to dial-up.
I know it’s slow but it’s cheaper. I can do everything on dial-up that I need to, it just takes longer.
I usually go do something else while my browser windows are loading and I use a download manager to download most everything, at night while we’re sleeping. I can even download videos. A good free download manager is Orbit Downloader. Better yet, if you live close to a library (within walking distance), it might be worth it to disconnect your internet and use the library’s internet access, usually at no charge.

3. Only own one vehicle and buy a used one.
Years ago, one car was all most people could afford and they did just fine.
A good used car, with maintenance, will last a long time and newer cars are not made to last. We bought our vehicle for $3500, 5 years ago. It’s paid off and still runs fine.
I go out once a week and do my shopping, banking, mail, and library. A couple times a month we go out an extra day for visiting or getting together with other homeschoolers.

4. Don’t use credit cards.
If you’re having problems making payments, seek credit counseling. Consumer Credit Counseling Service was one we used years ago and it really helped.

5. Don’t buy new clothes.
I clothe our whole family from the flea market, rummage and yard sales and thrift shops. I found one flea market that has clothes for a dime, it just takes time going through them, and they’re always putting out new stuff. If you’re in Blount County TN, it’s the Foothills Flea Market on 321 going toward Townsend, look for the greenhouses on the left.

6. Don’t use the dryer, it uses a lot of electricity.
I haven’t had a dryer since 1982. If the weather is bad I hang the clothes in the house on hooks in the ceiling. Sometimes I don’t get them in on time.

Above all else, I pray and have faith.
He will provide for our needs.

But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:7

Hope these ideas will help you in some way and I will try to post some more this week.

Denese